Many known paint application systems include the application and curing of multiple layers of coatings, which result in the original finish to the exterior surfaces of consumer products, including, but not limited to, automotive vehicles. As one example, wet on wet paint application systems involve the application of a subsequent coating to a substantially uncured previously applied coating. The two substantially uncured coatings are then jointly cured by a curing process, which may involve a curing oven.
One proposed wet on wet paint application system includes the sequential application of multiple coating compositions, including an electrocoat (ecoat), a primer coat, a basecoat and a clearcoat. The ecoat is applied to a substrate (for example, an automotive vehicle panel) and is subsequently cured. Furthermore, the wet on wet system includes applying the primer coat to the cured ecoat, curing the primer coat, subsequently applying the basecoat to the cured primer coat, and subsequently applying the clearcoat to the uncured basecoat. The adjacent uncured coating layers, i.e., the basecoat and clearcoat, are then jointly cured to obtain a cured paint system.